Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6 (ESV)
This is a powerful and well known verse in our Bibles. It is a statement made by Jesus to his disciples, and it is statement that reveals His identity. This statement would have been revolutionary for his disciples to hear, as their teacher was claiming to be the way, the truth, the life, and the very pathway to the Father… This was the bold speech of a revolutionary!
But just as revolutionary as this statement would have been to his disciples over 2000 years ago, I believe this statement is perhaps even more controversial for us today. And, the controversy centers around one small word; the word “the.”
Postmodernity has marked the way we think in our culture. It has led us to question any exclusive truth claim, and it has caused us to speak in terms of personal truth, as opposed to universal truth. In John 14, Jesus is not saying, “I am a way, and a truth, and a life.” If so, our culture would have no issue with this statement at all. The problem is of course the “the.” The problem is the exclusivity. The problem is the absolute article, and the absolute claims that it communicates.
Jesus communicates three counter-cultural ideas in John 14:6…
Absolute Authority – “I am the way”
“How dare you tell me that your way is better than my way?” “More than that, what right do you have to tell me that your way is right, and mine is wrong?”
At the heart of all sin is a rejection of authority. Consider the first sin in the garden in Genesis chapter 3… The serpent came to the man and the woman and he began to question God’s authority. “Did he really saythat?” “Did he really mean that?” “Does he really know what is best for you?” As the man and the woman began to believe the serpent over God, they began to question the authority of God himself, and there, at the heart of the first sin, was a rejection of God’s authority.
The struggle with God’s authority, as was seen in the garden, continues to manifest itself in our lives today. This is why Jesus’ statement in John 14:6 is still revolutionary. To believe this statement is to submit to God’s absolute authority. The reality is that this statement establishes a single authority… a single way. And again, to believe this statement is to lay aside our own personal ideas of authority in submission to God’s absolute authority… to God’s way.
Absolute Truth – “I am the truth”
“What is true for you is true for you, and what is true for me is true for me.” “What right do you have to elevate your truth over any one else’s?”
The denial of absolute truth is the foundational cornerstone of postmodernity. The common cultural belief is that all truth is relative, and this belief is potentially the single greatest obstacle in evangelism today.
When Jesus said, “I am the truth,” he made it clear that he was not one truth among many. Instead, Jesus made an exclusive truth claim. Although relative truth is the foundational cornerstone of postmodernity, the absolute truth of Jesus Christ is the foundational cornerstone of the Faith. Jesus Christ is the truth.
Absolute Purpose – “I am the life”
“I will discover my own purpose in life.” “What right do you have to tell me how to live my life?”
Essential to our identity as modern day Americans is our sense of independence. We admire those who blaze their own paths and live outside-the-box. We desire to live authentic and genuine lives that uniquely express our values. Along with this, we also tend to reject any idea of someone else telling us how we ought to live our lives… It is just constraining, right?
When Jesus said, “I am the life,” he did not say, “I am one of the possible positive options out there for your life.” Instead, Jesus clearly calls people to himself as the life. Jesus make is clear that not only is he the absolute authority and truth, but he intends to conform our lives to himself. He is the life.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” – Jesus
As controversial and revolutionary as this statement would have been to Jesus’ disciples over 2000 years ago, the words of Jesus in John 14 are all the more controversial today. John 14:6 leaves us with a decision; Do we believe and submit to the claim of Christ, or do we not?
There is no middle ground, because he has left us none.